A dream or not?
by Lady Marian of Knighton
Summary: Robin hears the clash of metal. Is it a dream?


Set in pre-series to the Robin Hood BBC show.

The Saracen raid has an unpredictable outcome. This is oneshot. There is a tragedy here.

Reviews are so much welcome!

I don't own Robin Hood BBC and the characters.

* * *

><p>Another night in the Holy Land. Another nightmare. Again hissing clash of metal and sounds of fighting.<p>

Robin of Locksley, the Earl of Huntington and the Captain of the King's Private Guard, tossed his head on a pillow, trying to realize what was going on outside his tent. He imagined that he heard the sounds of the battle outside. Another clang made Robin twitch and he blearily opened his eyes, his sleepy mind coming to terms with the sound.

The screams of the wounded men followed, and Robin opened his eyes as the realization dawned on him that it was reality and they were attacked. He jumped to his feet, prepared to defend the King.

"Much!" Robin screamed as he grabbed his bow and a handful of arrows and his scimitar. "Saracens in camp! The King is under attack! Much! Much!"

Robin ran outside the tent and ran his eyes across the Crusader camp. He saw only glimpses of men running here and there, some of them Crusaders and the others the masked Saracens. He crouched and placed his arrows into the sandy ground; then he strung one and sighted down, firing the arrow.

His arrow struck the first assassin in his chest and he fell dead. He scrambled to his feet and ran towards the King's tent, pausing only to notch another arrow. The second assassin also fell dead.

Robin sighted another assassin and fired another arrow that hit the intruder in his neck. The third men fell to the ground dead. Robin grinned smugly, pleased with what he had achieved in the last couple of minutes. He didn't think that there would be any other problem to defeat the assassins, for it looked that there were very few of them left.

He prepared to notch another arrow when suddenly he felt sharp pain in his left side as the cold steel of the dagger sliced him through his ribs. The dagger was withdrawn just as swiftly, and Robin collapsed to the ground after he let out a scream of pain. He grimaced and gave another cry of pain as he moved his body and clutched his wound on his left side.

Knowing that he could not let the assassin get away with what he did, Robin tried to find his bow. He had to kill the man and save the King. Grimacing in pain, Robin notched an arrow and watched as it missed his target, sailing across the assassin's face. He cursed under his breath as the assassin ran away to the King's tent.

He heard Much's cries as his manservant rushed to him in despair and knelt down to inspect Robin's injury. But he didn't care what Much wanted to say and didn't care even to listen. He cared only to save the King because he let the assassin go away alive and placed his King's life in great danger.

"Master! Master!" Much screamed, his face desperate and panic-stricken. "You are injured..."

"Go, get help, the King's tent," Robin ordered. Grimacing, he scrambled to his feet and moaned as pain slashed through his side. "Go! Go!" he screamed, putting as much urgency in his voice as he could.

As Much disappeared and continued running in the King's tent, Robin saw the bodies of the two guards, killed near the King's tent; the assassin was already there. He felt his heart busting out his basque at the thought that he had been late and the deed had already been done.

Robin ran inside the tent and saw a tall masked Saracen standing near the bed with a sword in his hand. He managed to come on time – the Saracen hadn't killed the King yet.

"Your Majesty!" Robin yelled as he surged forward, blocking the downward stab the assassin intended to crush at the King's sleeping form.

Robin shoved the assassin roughly away from his King and attacked him with wide cuts, driving him deeper into the tent. With every new lunge and parry, he felt that he was less and less strength to fight, but he steeled himself against pain and fought for his King's life.

Suddenly he saw an opportunity as the assassin got tangled up in the folds of the tent. He lunged forward and grabbed the Saracen's sword arm, then pulled him downwards and sliced his forearm. As his blade cut the sleeve, he saw a wolf's head tattoo, highly stylized, and raked his sword across it.

The assassin cried out in pain and tried to flee, but Robin grabbed his arm and lunged at his rival again, though he felt his own arm weakening and barely made a cut across the tattoo. His actions elicited a startled cry from the assassin, and Robin made another assault.

The Saracen parried Robin's blow, but Robin ducked and swung his scimitar in a deadly arc that slice the assassin through his chest. The Saracen gave a howl of pain and staggered backwards, looking at Robin with wide dark blue eyes full of hate and pain.

Robin withdrew his scimitar from the assassin's body. "No!" he shouted, trying support himself against one of the tent's poles. But he suddenly became dizzy and lost his balance.

The last thing Robin saw was that the Saracen tumbled to the ground. Robin clutched his deep wound on his life side, feeling his blood pouring out of his body. He knew that it was most likely a mortal wound. But he was content that he protected his King and defeated the assassin.

Robin shut his eyes and collapsed on the ground. Next instance, King Richard rushed to his side as he had finally risen from his bed, trying to understand what happened in his tent. Richard saw Robin on the ground, in a pool of blood, and next to Robin the body of the assassin.

Richard grabbed Robin and rolled him over on his back.

"Robin," the King cried out in horror. He held Robin in his arms.

"Master! Master!" Much screamed as he rushed to Robin and the King.

A commotion escalated, and soon several Crusaders were in the King's tent.

"Your Majesty, are you unharmed?" Legrand asked.

The King raised his head and swept his eyes across the tent. "I am unscratched. Robin saved my life," he said, his eyes darting between the assassin and Robin. "Fetch my physician here," he commanded.

"Master… master…" Much lamented.

"The assassin?" Richard looked at Legrand.

"I will check now," Legrand answered.

"Is Captain Locksley alive?" one of the Crusaders asked.

"What is with our Captain?" another man asked.

"Robin is alive, but he is… grievously wounded," the King said in a hollow voice. "The Saracen?"

"Dead," Legrand answered. "Robin killed him."

"Good," Richard said. "Hurry! Fetch the medic!"

The Crusaders dragged the assassin's body from the King's tent, and the physician rushed to Robin's side. The assassin was dead, but Captain Locksley's life was in grave danger.


End file.
